


The Fish with a Wish

by Leviisthesexiestheichou



Series: My Engineer: RamKing [4]
Category: My Engineer (TV)
Genre: Adorable, Cute, Fantasy, Fluff, Funny, Gay, Gaycouple, LGBT, M/M, Ram/King - Freeform, RamKing - Freeform, Romance, Silly, king/ram - Freeform, romantic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-17 17:29:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28728903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leviisthesexiestheichou/pseuds/Leviisthesexiestheichou
Summary: King has been learning to calm his doggy anxiety, but it isn’t perfect.  When his boyfriend turns into a dog, he must learn to face his fears and take care of him until he figures out how to reverse this curse!
Relationships: Duen Krisada Rattananumchok/Bon Sirikarnkul, King/Ram (My Engineer)
Series: My Engineer: RamKing [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1930900
Comments: 14
Kudos: 36





	1. Can Fish Swim in Raindrops?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On BL Drama Amino, an app for BL fans to congregate, a lovely friend of mine won a contest where she described what present she would give to Tul from Together with Me. As a prize, I promised that I would write a fanfiction for her. I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Link to BL Drama Amino: https://aminoapps.com/c/bldrama/home/ 
> 
> It's a fun app and website, so I 100% recommend! :)

If fish could swim with the rain, what kind of fish would precipitate? Guppies sounded viable considering their size, and salmon sounded terrifying to slam onto your windshield. It’d be delightfully crazy to witness an array of colors swarming to the ground in blurs of rainbow. Cats would be the happiest of all by this great phenomenon. 

The most enviable couple from university decided to take a casual stroll outside of Bangkok with an umbrella swinging beside as a precautionary. No matter the protests that King bemoaned, Ram insisted on lugging an umbrella after reviewing the weather report. King kept saying that the sky was cloudless, and without soggy cotton hanging above, there is nothing to ring out. It took Ram ten minutes to understand what that even meant.

With the giant star microwaving the two, Ram popped the purple roof open and shaded it over their heads as they made their way down the sidewalk. Birds chirping chanted crisply in Ram’s ears, which matched well with the fresh scent of tropical trees. Holding King’s hand gently, ignoring the puddle welling in their palms, he happily swayed their hold together on their venture to the ancient wells they planned to visit. 

As enjoyable as their romantic stroll was, the only thing that would’ve made it perfect were three fluffy angels panting ahead of them. Since dating King, Ram hadn’t been able to spend as much time with his dogs as he’d like to, given his boyfriend’s phobia of the “wolf in wolves’ clothing”. Those were King’s words, not his. Just as they were getting acquainted with one another, King’s fear worsened with a Labrador puppy barked at him last week. He ran like a kpop fangirl had found her oppa.

Sadly, Ram's dogs weren't waiting for them back at the condo either. Ram's mom insisted that they stayed back home so that they could run around in their backyard more and be able to roam around the house. As much as he didn't want to, Ram agreed that being cooped in a laundry room all day to avoid a person scared of them wasn't the ideal situation.

Bona Khong Pom, aka Pom’s Pond, was the famous well that King and Ram were visiting. Legend said that those with pure hearts would have their greatest wish granted, but no one in this century had been fortunate enough to claim their prize. Most probably wanted money or success. In honesty, Ram had no idea what he would wish for.

“Maybe I could wish for a rare plant, like the Middlemist Red! Did you know that there are only two of these plants left? There’s one in England and another in New Zealand. How cool would it be to be the third owner of the world’s rarest plant?” King had been lamenting about the many things he wanted to ask for. Considering the possibility of fulfilled desires, he wanted to make sure his request didn’t go to waste. 

“You’d take it with you everywhere,” Ram amused, smiling lightly at the image of King proudly carrying his new specimen around like a boy with his favorite action figure. The way his eyes would sparkle at showing off his beloved as he rattled the many facts he knew from the top of his head to his uninterested friends. 

“Of course. I can’t chance losing him,” King insisted.

Ram wanted to ask, “You don’t want to wish for us?” but was too shy to question shamelessly. Perhaps, if he were Bohn, then he’d be teasing him relentlessly of all the audacious requests he’d make to the well, knowing that his boyfriend secretly had the same desires. As Bohn, Ram would also be saying the lines cheesier than a soap opera that would make King blush idiotically. 

But he wasn’t Bohn. There wasn’t a bold bone in his body that resembled the cheeky jerk. It had taken Ram six months to muster the courage to say, “I love you,” so the chances he was going to say something dumb like, “I bet you’ll wish you could kiss me forever,” was slimmer than him winning the lottery.

บ่อน้ำของปอม

The crowd of people ahead had told them that they had arrived at their destination. Letting go of his hand, Ram zipped the umbrella shut and hooked the handle to one of his belt loops on his side. King excitedly snatched Ram’s wrist and lugged him to the swarm of unwanted visitors. 

As they approached, Ram couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed. The water well was rather ordinary looking, with only a sign that read, “บ่อน้ำของปอม” as indication to this well’s importance. About two feet high, stones were cemented together in the shape of a cylinder, with rocks sharply poking out from its sides. Only three logs of wood were used to support a long line of rope that wrapped around the centered log. Two logs from the sides stood vertically to carry one horizontal log in place above the well. 

Ram peered down to see a black pit with movements of shine. The trip down looked deathly far, and one that he had no intentions of taking. Pulling away, he looked at the smile on King’s face as he admired the basic beauty.

“Do you have your coin with you?” King asked, revealing a gold coin worth 50 satang, with King Rama IX on one side and wat Phra That Doi Suthep, a buddhist temple, on the reverse. 

Ram dug in his pockets and showed the same coin. 

“Good! Now, you just make your wish, blow on the coin, and toss it in the well,” King instructed.

To set a good example, King went first. He raised his coin to his face, closed his eyes and murmured under his breath.

Arf! Arf! Arf! 

A pomeranian cutely greeted the couple with a wagging tail and slobbery tongue sticking out. She scratched at King’s legs, begging for attention.

The dog chose the wrong person to befriend because King yelped and jumped his way to heaven at the sudden twist of events. Before he could make his wish, his coin leapt from his fingertips and plopped into the deep pit.

“Dang it!” King rushed to the other side of Ram to escape the vicious monster and hovered over the edge.

Really, King? A tiny, fluffy pomeranian made you scream? At this rate, King wasn’t going to take his three dogs on a walk for another five years.

Ram couldn’t help feeling defeated. Though he understood and respected King’s fear, it was difficult for him to see his boyfriend afraid of something he cherished. King’s attempts to resist were heartwarming, and he was grateful to know he wanted to try, but his failed efforts were sometimes disappointing. 

Aha! That was it. Ram knew exactly what he wanted to wish for. 

Raising the coin just centimeters from his lips, he closed his eyes and whispered a little wish. 

Gently, he blew against the metal and flipped it into the well. Curiously, he glanced down to see that the coin never made it to the water. A giant, golden fish broke through the current and swallowed the coin whole. 

There went his stupid wish. This well sucked.

“Luck is not on our side today, is it?” King said after witnessing the vacuuming of his boyfriend’s money.

“No,” Ram mused.

As if fate wanted to laugh further, heaving drops of rain suddenly hammered them. Ram fumbled to get the umbrella open and was soaking wet before he had the chance to cover themselves. 

“Really?” King yelled at the sky with his hands in the air. 

“Told you it was going to rain.”


	2. The Boyfriend who Cried Wolf

As disappointing as their afternoon was, that didn’t stop the couple from making the best of their time together. Ram decided to take King to a fun amusement park, and they ended their night cuddling in bed while watching their favorite show, Adventure Time. King cheered when Marceline and Bubblegum kissed, and kept shouting, “I told you so!” to Ram, who was insistent that the writers never had the guts to give them a romantic storyline.

Soon, the two were spooning, with King as the little spoon and Ram koala hugging him, and drifted peacefully into a deep slumber. Thankfully, neither of them were kickers, so they usually stayed in their position the entire night. The only drawback were the occasional neck sores.

Blinding light spied through the nook of the split curtains and whitened what was King’s black vision. Groggily, his eyes opened to see a blurred world of fuzzy objects. With a little yawn, he rubbed his vision clean and looked up to see a mass of raven hair. It was cute that they were still together in bed, and he couldn’t help smiling to himself. Hoisting himself higher, King pressed a gentle kiss to the top of his head. Ram tilted his head and licked a clear stripe up the side of his face.

Wait. 

Ram licked his face with a tongue comparatively larger than those giraffe’s King fed at the zoo last month. Confused, he sat up to see that he wasn’t cuddling with his boyfriend. He was cuddling with a giant, icky Labrador! 

“Aahhh!” King screamed bloody murder and flew from his bed, subsequently landing roughly on the floor. No matter the harshness, the aching in his back didn’t stop him from scattering from the floor and running to the door with his heart halfway out of his chest.

The sat up, bewildered, and cocked its head to the side.

“Ram! Ram! Did you get a new dog?” King cried out for his boyfriend, struggling to turn the handle and escape from his nightmare.

Lowly, the dog grumbled as if he were trying to communicate with him.

“Sorry, I don’t speak evil,” King snapped at him.

Dogs can sense fear. They know when someone is about to faint in their presence. At any moment, this dog was surely going to leap from the bed and attack him!

“Arf!” The mutt glanced down to stare at its furry paws and then quickly stared at its reflection in the mirror. It jolted from place, surprised to see its reflection, and fumbled from the bed.

“Ram!” A tear streamed from the distraught boy’s face, too scared to simply open a stupid door, and froze in fear that the dog may approach him. 

As if knowing King’s phobia, the dog steered clear of him and went to the bedside table. He propped his two legs on top and started to type on Ram’s phone. Were dogs really this intelligent? He had seen monkey’s on YouTube playing with electronics but never dogs.

“H-hey, get off of that. That’s not yours,” King commanded.

Ignoring him, he continued to pat away. When he finished, he glanced at King and barked.

“What?” 

His paw pointed at the phone, gesturing that he wanted King to read the message. He graced to the other side of the room, well away from the phone and waited for King’s next move.

With a large gulp, King slowly approached the phone and eyed whatever was on it. On the Notes app, three simple words were typed. “i an ran.”

King frowned and tried to decipher what that meant. Analyzing the keyboard, he noticed that the letter ‘m’ was next to the letter ‘n’.

‘i am ram.’

Wait. This crazy dog was claiming to be Ram!

“Haha, very funny. Come on out, Ram,” King yelled, peering around the room for signs of his boyfriend. Nothing. Everything was perfectly still, minus the panting dog opposite of him.  
The imposter paced around the room cautiously, as if aware that it shouldn’t make sudden movements, and slipped Ram’s bag off the dresser and tugged down the zipper.

“Oi!” King bemoaned.

He felt helpless. Here King was, watching some strange dog touch his boyfriend’s belongings, and he couldn’t do anything to stop him. Most likely, this was some kind of prank Bohn created to antagonize King for mocking the way he kissed Duen last week. But if you saw your friend kiss his boyfriend’s elbow and say, “I kissed your wenis,” then you’d have something to say about it too.

Ignoring King’s complaints, he tugged a coin out and nudged it towards King. 

Petrified, the sophomore knelt down to see that the coin happened to be of the same value they used yesterday for wish making. 

No way these incidents were related. For one, magical wishing wells don’t actually exist. Secondly, Ram’s coin got eaten by a fish. And lastly, why the heck would Ram ever wish to be a dog? They only lived for fifteen years at most! 

“Ram” pointed at the coin with his paw and then at himself. This dog was strangely human-like. Still, King’s sensibility told him this was rubbish.

“Ram, Bohn, whoever, I’m serious. Get him away from me,” King demanded. 

The dog rolled his eyes and went inside the closet. Shortly after, he came out with Ram’s shirt on. 

“Who’s in the closet?” King ran up to it as the dog ran to the other side. Abruptly, he swung the door open to reveal nothing but hanging clothes. 

He was starting to believe that his boyfriend truly was a dog.

“Alright, let’s say I’m not going crazy, and I believe you’re Ram. Tell me something about myself that only Ram would know,” King scowled and crossed his arms defiantly over his chest, waiting for the dog to show any definite sign of human mind.

Giving him a look, the dog complied and bit one of the drawer handles. After pulling it open, he rummaged through and picked out a specific article of clothing. This particular piece just so happened to be King’s favorite pair and most secret pair of boxers. Bright green, pretty species of butterflies in different colors decorated the underwear. 

Reddening, King rushed to grab his embarrassing undergarment. 

“P-put that back!” he spluttered.

Ram shook his head and kept hold of the cloth, seemingly finding amusement in King’s humiliation. King desperately tugged his clothing, trying to pull it away from what he was starting to believe was his boyfriend.

Those viscously sharp teeth protruded proudly from the jowls of the canine’s mouth, waiting for a delicate Thai boy’s skin to be shredded. Sharp eyes impaled his soul, warning that his moments were getting shorter. With that, King noticed his breath shortening as well, equalling with his stampering heart.

“Let go,” King cried.

It looked like Ram realized he had gone too far, because he soon let go of the cloth and watched King fall back on his butt for the second time that morning.

Distraught, he sat there and stared at the underwear in defeat.

“We’ve got to change you back,” he murmured at last, after having a minute to himself.

Ram nodded. 

“This is not the boyfriend who cried wolf.”


	3. It's the Leash I can Do

All morning, King pondered with Ram in the kitchen about what to do with this particular predicament. Well, Ram was actually in the living area. Whenever he tried to approach King, King would say, “That’s not social distancing!” He made his point.

Ram had indicated that his turning to a dog wasn’t intentional, which only confused King more. If his wish wasn’t to become a dog, then why did he end up like one? Did he word something in a way that the well would interpret as him wanting to be a dog? 

They had tried getting Ram to type more on his phone, but unfortunately, his paws were too wide to accurately type away at the screen, resulting in mostly incoherent sentences. That was, unless someone knew how to translate, “idushqd u woykjd step bynf sred if dpgw.” 

Until they found a dog whisperer, King was stuck guessing what Ram had wished for, while Ram attempted charades as a dog. As one would probably guess, it wasn’t going very well. 

“Did you wish to have another dog?” King asked.

Ram laid on the carpet and licked the floor. His uninterested expression hinted that his guess wasn’t correct. He was probably just relaxing for the time being, knowing that his attempted efforts to tell King his wish were moot. 

“I’m gonna have breakfast. This isn’t going anywhere,” King groaned.

Getting up, he walked to the kitchen and heard a faint growling stomach from afar. Ram was hungry too, but what did dogs eat? 

Opening the fridge, he scanned what he could quickly whip up. Eggs were the only thing presumed digestible for his furry boyfriend. 

“We’ll have to buy dog food for you. I wonder how that tastes. You have to tell me once you turn back,” King lamented. Peering over towards Ram, he sighed and went to cook the eggs. “If you turn back,” he muttered to himself.

********  
It took King everything in his power to brave himself to go to take Ram to the pet store. He’d go by himself, but he didn’t know what to buy, and he needed an emotional support animal. Yes, he was petrified of his ESA, but he figured terrifying support was better than no support.

When he was ready to leave, he brought Ram to the front and grabbed his wallet. Just as he was about to open the door, Ram whined from behind. Slowly, King spun around to see him complaining next to one of the left over leashes.

“I’m not putting a leash on you. You’re my boyfriend,” King said, though the real reason was obvious. He was too scared to touch Ram and putting a leash and collar on would be too close for comfort.

Ram shook his head and tugged on the blue string, insisting that he have a leash.

Groaning, King went to snatch the leash from the handle and rolled it into a ball. He sassily shoved it in his pockets and glared at Ram. 

“If I need this, I’ll use it. Until then, I’m not using it,” King explained.

Their walk was uncomfortable and not what either of them were used to. King forced Ram to pace himself ahead by a good six feet, making it almost look like they weren’t together. The lack of handholding was King’s largest complaint. He had gotten used to sharing warmth with someone. His hands had boyfriends of their own and were missing them terribly. 

As people passed by, they often gave weird looks to the pair, seemingly confused by Ram’s treatment. Usually, owners loved to walk beside their pet or allow them to be ahead by a foot or so. Meanwhile, this black dog was in his own world, and his owner didn’t seem to want anything to do with him.

King wanted to say, “What? My boyfriend turned into my biggest fear? What’s your excuse?” But that would make him sound crazier than he already looked.

Entering the pet store, he froze at the first bark that thundered in his ears. No matter what the bark meant, and though it was meters away, all King computed was danger. Any dog yap was a threat to him, ignoring the occasion. It was funny how someone that read silent Ram like a book could be clouded by phobias. In a weird way, Ram and the dogs spoke the same language, even when Ram was human!

A worker approached with a slightly irritated look on her face.

“Excuse me, but you have to keep your dog on a leash at all times when in the store,” she said with a forced smile.

King looked down at Ram, who gave him this dog look of, “I told you so.”

King apologized to the woman and walked over to the side with his boyfriend. How was he going to do this without having a heart attack? He knew in his heart that this hound’s heart was full of love and kindness, but his physical appearance reminded him of the one that saw him as a tasty treat.

Creeping closer, he attempted to reach his hand out with the leash he was thankful to have in his pocket. As soon as their eyes connected, he lunged backwards and slammed back into the carts behind. His arms flailed to catch his heavy tumble to the ground. Ow. He wished his butt were more cushiony.

Instinctually, Ram rushed to his side and sniffed around to check for injury.

“It’s fine, Ram. The only thing that got hurt was my pride,” he said dejectedly. 

Ram’s fuzzy paw timidly patted King’s hand. King nodded back to him, thankful for the solidarity. Before he could react, Ram pulled his paw back and stared at him expectedly. 

“Let’s try this again,” King said with more determination. Leaning over, he pressed down and hooked the leash to the rim of his collar. When it clipped shut, he grabbed hold of the end and walked as far away as the length extended.

Proud of himself, King grinned and cheered loudly. “Progress!”

A few people judged his celebrations, but he didn’t care. He was one step closer to losing his fear of dogs, at least if the dog is Ram.

That was it! Ram asked him to be cured of his cynophobia. 

“You wished I wouldn’t be scared of dogs anymore!” King shouted at him.

Ram jumped happily with his tail waving quickly in the air, creating a tornado near his dog booty. “Woof!”

The wish was very ambitious. Considering that for more than two decades, King has been petrified of dogs, it was fair to believe that Ram was going to be stuck as a dog longer than he would like to. For his boyfriend’s sake, he hoped he could get rid of his fear soon.


	4. Tiny Teeth are still Teeth

“And he just left the dog with you, knowing that you’re scared of dogs?” Bohn asked in shock.

After eating lunch with Bohn, and Duen because he has annoyingly been everywhere now, they decided to take Ram on a nice afternoon stroll. A peaceful walk with his boyfriend and close friend would be wonderful hadn’t there been a few issues. No one knew that Ram was Ram, King was calling him “Sida” to avoid confusion of the dog having the same name, and Bohn was holding his leash. King would’ve held it, but Bohn insisted since knowing his friend’s fear. Casually enjoying the city's sidewalk, the four sweated under the merciless heat that King never got used to.

Needless to say, the walk wasn’t as appealing as it could’ve been. King felt bad that Bohn kept yanking Ram back to his side each time he tried to walk a meter ahead. He had attempted to mention that Ram would be fine walking ahead, but Bohn claimed that he needed to learn how to walk on the leash properly.

“I’m walking him. He’s not walking me,” Bohn had declared.

King wondered if the beaming sun on Ram’s stark, black coat would be boiling him to a hotdog. His pink tongue flapped around from the side of his mouth, allowing his slobber to fling onto Bohn’s feet. Though Ram couldn’t speak, King knew he was enjoying that part. 

“That doesn’t sound like Ram. He’s usually very considerate,” Duen mentioned, piggybacking off what Bohn had said earlier.

King, between Bohn and the street, shrugged his shoulders. There wasn’t a good explanation for this. Ram’s family would’ve happily taken the pet, so he had no reason to leave the dog with him. 

“Did you guys get into a fight? He could be trying to be petty,” Bohn suggested. “Sida” glared at him and flung a particularly thick glob of spit on his big toe.

“Ew!” Bohn grimaced and pushed Ram’s face to the opposite side of him.

“No, we didn’t. I think this is his weird way of helping my fear of dogs, honestly,” King said, trying to give his boyfriend some positive light.

“Is it working?” Duen asked curiously.

“I think so. I can pet Sida sometimes. That’s a good start,” King said proudly.

Though he was by no means perfectly 'cured', he did notice major improvements in his attitude towards dogs. Before, King would've ran at the sight of any dog. Now, he can tolerate walking alongside one as long as it was chill. Ram may be the only dog that he can pet, but that was progress too as that would've never been possible before. Each day was a new milestone, even if that mile was actually a centimeter. A centimeter forward was closer than a centimeter back.

“He’s going to be so disappointed when he gets back,” Bohn teased.

Leave it to Bohn to ruin the moment. King rolled his eyes and crossed his arms defiantly across his chest.

“Bohn!” Duen scolded with a swift swat to his shoulder and a shake of his head. 

“You mean like Duen was when he found out that his big birthday surprise was just you in black lingerie,” King shot back.

Duen’s entire face turned to the color of a fire hydrant. 

“How did you know about that?” Bohn asked.

“Texting him a photo next to me in class isn’t exactly stealth,” King smirked.

Upset, Duen shot him a nasty look and began marching in the opposite direction.

“Honey! Come back!” Bohn begged but to no avail.

Feeling guilty, King sighed. “I’ll go get him.”

Just as he made his way over to Duen, a little bark from behind could be heard. This was no deep ruff. It was irritating and high-pitched, like scraping your fork against a ceramic plate.

Turning around, he saw a small, fluffy dog racing in his direction. The mystery cloud looked dead set on attacking him, for whatever reason. Behind him was a handsome man trying to catch him.

Instinctually, King took off in the blink of an eye and was running down the sidewalk, not wanting to be this little dog’s victim. 

A louder bark was heard now, as he saw Ram lunging in an attempt to follow the two. Bohn did his best to hold him, leaning back and flexing his muscles to keep him in place. Ram stopped suddenly. Thinking he finished, Bohn relaxed and returned to his usual demeanor. Sneakily, Ram took advantage of his vulnerability and broke free from his hold.

Out of breath, King rushed to a tree and watched the tiny Pomeranian stopped in front of him, yelling by his feet. His hands dug into the veins of the plant, shedding parts of sharp, brown skin from its base.

“What do you want from me?” King cried.

A man with striking silver hair soon appeared and quickly picked up the dog. “Chopper! Where are your manners?” He huffed and wai’ed to King. “Sorry, P. He slipped out of his collar,” he explained breathlessly.

Gracefully, Ram lept between the two and stood protectively in front of King, prepared to attack at any time. King figured he felt more threatened by the very attractive man than by the dog.

“It’s okay. I just wonder what made him chase me,” King muttered.

Ram glanced back and sniffed his nose in the air. Coming towards him, he sniffed at King’s front pants pocket.

King patted his thigh and pulled out a handful of bacon treats. Those had completely been forgotten about!

“Oh, that would explain that,” King said.

It was mortifying to not only be running away from a tiny dog but also to have not remembered he had dog bait buried in his clothes. This guy must've thought he was a complete noob. In fairness, he would feel the same way.

Looking at the two hungry wolves with wide eyes, he couldn’t help himself. “Can I give your dog a treat?” King respectfully asked.

The stranger nodded and set his dog on the ground. “He’s pretty friendly once he gets to know you.”

Happily, the dogs sat at attention in front of him with drool foaming from the sides of their faces. King plopped the treats into their snares, chuckling as they gobbled them up.

“He’s fur-given,” King said with a laugh.

He didn’t seem to get the pun but instead picked his dog back up when he finished. “Well, sorry again about Chopper. You’ve been super paw-lite,” he giggled back.

The slight flirting set Ram off because he soon growled lowly at the guy, not wanting him to stay any longer.

Wanting to diffuse the situation, King glanced back at Bohn and Duen, who were seemingly too distracted with their argument to care about him. “I better get back to my friends. Nice meeting you,” he said kindly.

“You too,” he agreed.

Once the guy left, King flicked the top of Ram’s head. “Don’t worry, I’d never go after him. I’m mutts about you,” he cooed.

Ram licked his hand as an apology. They really were the pawfect couple.


	5. Grass is Greener on the Other Side

There was no doubt that it was risky. But it was a risk they were willing to take.

No one in their right mind would ever suggest that King go to a dog park. In fact, none of his friends believed he would go through with it. They all secretly made a bet that he would chicken out, each betting on how long he would last. Boss had the littlest faith in him, believing that he wouldn’t show up. Bohn gave him the benefit of the doubt and said he’d last a good ten minutes.

Regardless of his friends' discouragements, King was determined to see it through. The best way for him to push past his fears was to face them head on. This technique was known as exposure therapy, in which a person confronted their fear to decrease tendencies for avoidance and reduce stress levels. The more exposure to dogs King had, the better chances that he’d have the option of befriending them.

As nervous as he was, King still got dressed that day and continually told Ram that he would place himself in one of the most dog infested areas of their city. 

“I’m really going to do it. And I’m going to pet a maltese. Watch me!”

Deep down, King didn’t even believe in himself. The idea of purposefully placing himself in an area surrounded by his greatest fear sounded like the biggest panic attack waiting to happen. Common sense would tell him to not try and deal with such a large dilemma by himself and seek professional help, but King didn’t have the time, money, or patience to do that. 

Showing his support, Ram trudged to his side and licked his palm. 

“I can’t wait for you to kiss my lips again,” King said as he glanced down at him with a soft smile. He gently patted his fuzzy head.

Mischievously, Ram popped onto his hind legs and rested his arms on King’s chest. Jumping up, he gave him a quick slurp on his boyfriend’s plumped lips.

“Oi!” King pushed him off and wiped his mouth in disgust. “I meant as a human. Dog tongues are gross.”

Moments like these proved his improvement. Normally, King would scream at the sight of a dog approaching him. Now, he was here, allowing a dog to tease him and tackle. Yes, he was also his boyfriend, but this was still tremendous progress.

********

Ram clung to King’s side as they approached the sea of olive green grass, infested with mutts chasing bright red balls or each other. Standing at the break between sidewalk and park, they admired the puppy utopia from a distance. Glancing down, King could see Ram was dying to go and chase one of the maltese dogs. Though he was human, he was in the body of an animal with instincts, many of which involved chasing things.

“Go on. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine,” King encouraged him. 

Giving him a worried look, he kissed his hand and soon rushed off.

“Don’t be too concerned,” King muttered under his breath. 

Situating himself nicely on a blue bench, he eased into his seat and admired Ram taking off after the German Shepherds. His long black legs fully extended and commanded to the ground with a shake. Swiftly, his sleek tail dusted the air as he found a friend to play with. Excited, the dog played along and dashed after him, ignoring the other dogs that were irritated and focusing on tackling the raven haired lab. 

It was funny to see Ram so carefree. Usually, he was quite a serious person. King was left making most of the jokes. To see him enjoying himself with a pack of friends was definitely different. The most interesting part was that Ram would almost have a heart attack talking to people he didn’t know, but as a dog, he fit right in. Maybe being a dog was his true calling. 

Panic flooded his body as he feared what he didn’t want to be true. What if Ram preferred being a dog? It suited his lifestyle much more. Would he resent King if he was successful in returning him to his boring human lifestyle? As a canine, he was at ease and happy. He never seemed that happy as his human self.

Jittering in his seat, he did his best to calm his nerves from the animals surrounding. He felt like a person with arachnophobia being shoved in a pit of spiders. Any spider, large or small, was petrifying. King shared this token.

“Which one is yours?”

Startled, King noticed that a handsome, muscular guy had comforted a spot next to him on the bench. 

“The lab over there irritating the corgis,” King said, pointing in the distance to his boyfriend. “How about you?”

“The corgi your dog is chasing,” he chuckled.

“What’s its name?”

“Her name is Chelsea. Yours?”

“Ram,” King said without thinking.

The man nodded and smiled charmingly at him.

“It’s funny that we introduced our dogs to each other before ourselves. I’m Tul,” Tul said with a quick nod. 

“I’m King,” King nodded back and admired his features some more. He had toffee skin and nicely shaped lips. If King didn’t know better, he’d think Tul was an actor.

Tul pulled out a green ball from his pocket and handed it to King. "Here, try playing with him."

Dog people were really friendly.

"Ram!" King waited for him to look back before cannonballing the sphere in his direction.

Arf! Arf!

King focused to see that jealous Ram was not into King admiring attractive buff guys. Quickly, he sped towards him. As he was hurdling their way, he caught the attraction of a tanned Great Dane. The Dane followed him to his destination, towering over the other dogs as if he were a skyscraper.

Frightened, King trampolined from his spot and over the other side of the bench. Immediately, terror took over as his mouth turned to the Sahara desert, and his heart decided it wanted to be a racecar driver. Shaking in place, tears formed from the sides as he panicked pathetically.

“You okay?” Tul glanced down with concern with his arm leaning over the top of the bench, noticing the fright from the horse’s presence.

“I’m fine. D-don’t worry about me,” King sighed.

Ram approached him and nuzzled their heads together. Grateful, King accepted and sat there in defeat.

They had been working so hard on getting him better. And here he was, scared of a dog again. In fairness, the dog was ginormous, but he was certain that he had to rid his fear of any dog, not just the cute and tiny ones. At this rate, Ram was going to live out his days as a lazy pooch. King was going to be stuck with a canine boyfriend. What luck he had!

"What's wrong?" Tul asked kindly.

"I...I'm scared of dogs," King explained shamefully.

"A dog owner that's scared of dogs? You must be brave to own one then," Tul complimented.

This guy was just trying to be nice, and King knew it. Deep down, he was probably laughing his butt off. Haha. King got to be the joke of the day, yet again. What else was new?

"Not brave enough," King sighed.

"Dog owners aren't fearless of every breed. Some people love dogs but steer clear from Rottweilers. Some breeds have their reputations," Tul said.

That made sense. Not every dog had the same temperament, just like humans. Genetically, dogs had different personalities or general demeanors. With people, parents pass down the same genetics. And both share the environmental factors that come into play with personality. Nothing is black and white. Little by little, King was starting to understand that.

"What is a Dane known for?"

"Danes? They're known for being relaxed and cuddly," Tul chuckled. "But if I didn't know any better, I'd be scared of them too. Don't be too hard on yourself. These things take time," Tul encouraged, turning around to face him.

King smiled, appreciating the encouragement.


	6. Pet to the Vet

This was definitely the worst part about Ram being a dog. It wasn’t the lack of kissing, conversations, or dinners shared. It wasn’t the fact that literally no one knew why Ram had seemingly fallen off the face of the earth and left a dog in King’s care. It wasn’t even King’s random outbursts of terror against his boyfriend. 

No. The absolutely worst and most demoralizing part of your boyfriend being a dog was that you had to take him out to use the washroom. King had given up on trying to get Ram to use the toilet after his grossly misaimed attempt. Unfortunately, he was stuck guiding him to a patch of grass just outside of his condo and looking away while his lover sprayed his lemonade on every lamppost in sight. The most awkward part was knowing that people could see as they walked past. People had seen his own boyfriend peeing. Weird!

About two weeks had passed now, but it was just as uncomfortable as the first time. When King first mentioned the idea to Ram, his growl and shake of his head clearly expressed his disapproval. But King’s monologue of common sense persuaded him into agreeing that this was the only option. Well, they could’ve bought puppy pads for the condo, but that would’ve made the place smell like a urinal. And urinals didn’t smell like daisies.

The sky was shaded a navy blue with reflecting diamonds scattered across. Sheared across in puffs of cotton, the clouds covered the waning cheese ball that demanded attention. Outside was considerably dimmer than the chirpy daytime, hiding the shadows that lurked. If King didn’t have Ram attached to him, he’d be petrified to be casually loitering on the sides of his building. The flickering streetlamp wasn’t making the mood any less creepier. 

“H-hurry up, okay?” King requested nervously.

Ram wandered a few meters from him and went to do his thing. That was when King heard it. A whimper faintly whispered past his ears. Judging from Ram’s ears perking up, he noticed it too. The dog sprinted back and glanced around for indication as to where the sound was coming from.

“What’s going on?” King questioned.

Hearing the cry again, Ram followed the sound path with King behind. They soon approached a thick leafy bush against the backside of the condo. His long muzzle poked through the leaves and soon exposed a crying Alaskan Malamute puppy. Its ears were cowering down, and when inspecting closely, you could see his leg awkwardly bent and stuck between poky branches. Though King was no veterinarian, he suspected that the poor thing had a broken bone. Thailand’s unforgivingly hot weather probably wasn’t doing the baby any favors.

Terrified, the puppy lowly growled, trying to protect itself from the strange human and the intimidating adult dog. Pointy teeth were bared at them, telling them that he wasn’t going to be friendly.

With a gulp, King cautiously knelt to its eye level and rested a hand on Ram’s back for support.

“Hey there...we won’t hurt you,” he said in a gentle voice.

Violently, the dog began shaking. King knew it needed help, but he didn’t want to traumatize the dog with too much interaction. 

Ram sniffed its injury and gave it a tiny lick. Ew. The dog curiously watched him as he shoved his head between the trap and carefully fit the leg in his mouth. Shocked, the puppy snapped at him, but it was ignored. As it cried, Ram slowly freed the leg from the prickly snares and rested it on the ground. The puppy must’ve realized that they were there to help because it licked Ram as a ‘thank you’.

“Let’s take him to the vet. I’m sure there’s an emergency clinic we can go to,” King suggested.

Without quick movement, King cradled the pup into his arms and pet the top of its fluffy head. From pulling it out, he could see that it was thin and had knotted hair. If the lack of care wasn’t any indication, the collarless neck also told him that it had no owner. King also noted that this dog was male. “Don’t worry, buddy. We’re going to fix you right up,” he assured him.

They returned to his condo to research vets in the area. Meanwhile, King had made a homemade bed with a soft blanket. After looking up what to do, he elevated the wound on a pillow and gave the baby plenty of water. Figuring that Ram’s kibble was too large for him to eat, he fed him a leftover cheeseburger. 

“Okay, there’s a vet about four kilometers from here. Online is saying to take him immediately,” King said.

Cradling him, King and Ram headed towards the vet. Thankfully, it wouldn’t take them too long to walk there. Refreshing air kissed King’s skin as they made their way down the sidewalk and towards the city. Ram was on standby, making sure to intimidate anyone that attempted to mess with his man or newfound friend. 

The vet was efficient and wasted no time in caring for the pooch. Almost two hours passed, and King had learned that this dog was ten weeks old, was severely malnourished, had a broken leg, and had a urinary tract infection. King did his best to assuage the shaking pup as they placed the blue cast on him.

As smoothly as it went, the only awkward part was when the vet had asked for his name. He hadn’t given much thought considering he was too busy worrying about what to even call him other than cute and brave. 

With a handful of puppy and bags of medicine, King made his way home with his two boys. King explained that he would take care of the puppy while they tried to figure out where to place him. He was sure that someone would want to take an adorable puppy in, even with a little booboo.


	7. Kangwol

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those that have not heard of the piece, "Morning Mood" by Edvard Grieg, here it is for reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rh8gMvzPw0

If you have ever heard the piece Morning Mood by Edvard Grieg, then you’d know exactly King’s feelings when he woke the next morning. Without reason, the sun that pierced through his thin lids wasn’t blinding but inviting. A red collared dove tweeted a mellifluous tune just outside his window and winked him a good morning. 

Smiling at the ambiance, King turned to his side to face his canine boyfriend. Only able to see the top of a black head, he chuckled to himself and leaned down to give him a quick peck. “I love you na krub,” he lazily murmured, not confident he was heard or not. Mummy style, he sat up and extended his limbs in an attempt to reach both corners of his bedroom, which of course was impossible to achieve. 

“Gaaaaah,” he roared, waking the puppy that was resting peacefully on the edge of the bed.

It peeped its head and raised its ears, looking curiously at the human making loud noises. He grumbled in return and rested his head back with his paw.

King glanced to the side and read that it was 8:30 a.m. It was rare for him to wake up at a time like this, especially during a stressful and tiresome event. But here he was, fully rested and up when the birds were singing.

“What’re you doing up so early?” a foggy voice bellowed behind.

Shocked, King turned back to see a human Ram sitting up and rubbing his eyes. 

“Ram!” 

Too excited, King latched onto his boyfriend and hooked his arms around his tattooed neck. His body rested on top of his boyfriend’s, chest to chest, and heart to heart. Startled, Ram pulled his arms back and instinctually placed one on his waist. King didn’t hesitate to kiss those small lips that he had missed for so long, peppering them relentlessly until Ram pulled back.

“What’s all the commotion?” Ram asked, both irritated and confused.

“Have you forgotten that you’ve been a dog for the last two weeks?!” King just about screamed.

“Wait-” Now that Ram was more awake, he was starting to understand what had just happened. His widened eyes told King all he needed to know. 

Laughing, he kissed Ram again, this time letting their lips linger and not pulling away. A happy sigh escaped past his tiny nostrils, breezing his stubbly face.

Words could not begin to describe the amount of relief King felt that he was successful in giving his boyfriend his life back. Everything relied on him, and it was a stressful situation for all parties involved. His friends were close to sending out a search party for him. Two weeks was too long to be away and not respond to anyone. Poor Ram would have a lot of explaining to do. 

In a stupid way, it was cool that they had this experience. It was a story they both shared, and it was one that no one else would ever have. It wasn't for Bohn, Duen, or any of their friends to connect with or get. This little fable was just for them. Even if they dared tell anyone, who would believe them? More people would believe that Ram somehow jumped ten meters in the air.

“You overcame your fear of dogs,” Ram said almost speechlessly.

“We overcame my fear. Without you, I’d be yelling about the puffball on the edge of our bed,” King retorted.

Truer statements hadn't been made. This wasn't just King but a group effort. They both wanted him to develop a better relationship with these common house pets. There was a reason dogs got the term, "Every man's best friend." They were a great support to add in life.

Moving to see past King’s shoulder, he saw the little baby licking its front paw and resting it atop the casted one. Man was that guy cute.

King noticed that special glint in Ram’s eye. It was rare since there were few things that captured his interest. 

“Wanna keep him?” King offered.

As if it were possible, Ram’s eyes shined more, focusing back to King with a suppressed excitement in his face. A gulp squeaked from him as he said, “Can we?”

“I don’t see why not. We have many plants, so dogs should be welcomed too. We can even bring back the other three if you want,” King offered.

You have no idea how amazing it felt for King to be able to say that and genuinely mean it. As much as Ram claimed it wasn't, he could sense that there was a bit of tension he felt from not being able to see his dogs. He could say he was happy in the relationship, but that didn't mean he wasn't a little empty from not having the pups that he cared and grew. King imagined he'd feel the same way if he couldn't be around his plant babies. You nurtured them as if they were your children, and no parent wants to be away from their child.

Overwhelmed with emotion, Ram kissed him gratefully and rested their foreheads together. “Let’s name him Kangwol.”

“You’ve been thinking about this, haven’t you?” King murmured.

“Possibly.”

It was cute to see Ram thrilled about something. His usually indifferent demeanor was sometimes worrisome for friends that didn’t understand his contentment. As regular as his life was, he still deserved some joy in it too. 

But then the fear sunk back in. Ram was back to being a human after being in his dream body. Would he really be satisfied with his life now, especially after experiencing his dream? Or would life now feel incomparable?

“Ram…” King almost didn’t want to ask.

“Hm?” his head cocked to the side.

“Do you...do you wish you were still a dog?”

Did he really want to know? How much would their relationship change if he said, "Yes."? Would this even have an impact on their relationship, or would they move on? King knew that if he didn't ask, the question would always be boiling in his heart. The only way to soothe it was to ask directly from the horse's mouth, or in this case, the mutt's.

“Why?” 

Answering a question with another question wasn’t exactly an answer. King huffed and avoided all eye contact. “I don’t know...you just seemed happy as a dog. I’ve never seen you so happy before.”

Ram shook his head. 

“What?”

“King, you are the most important person in my life. You are what gives me the greatest happiness,” he said sheepishly. 

King’s heart warmed at that acknowledgement. Some boyfriends like to sweet-talk their lovers, but King knew that he was genuine. Ram didn’t say things to satisfy other people. He spoke his truth.

Satisfied with his answer, he snuggled back in bed and rested his head on his heated chest, feeling his hardened pecs beneath. He really missed feeling how muscular he was. It was hot to have a guy that took care of his body. 

“I missed you so much.”

“I never left.”

“I know...but I missed this...we can’t have this kind of intimacy with you as a dog. That’s close to the line of beastiality that I’m not willing to cross.”

“Good point.”

Ram really did have no clue how much King had missed just being held like this. Before Ram, he didn't think he cared about silly couple stuff like cuddling or kissing. But after experiencing it, it was all he could think about sometimes. It was like a person that had a crack addiction. You don't understand how badly you want something until you have it.

Feeling left out, Kangwol wiggled his way towards them. Ram smiled and gently carried the pup between the couple. King pet the top of his soft head and gave him a little kiss.

“I’m glad I’m not scared of dogs anymore. They’re so squishy," King admired. He toyed with the little hairs sitting on his head, spiking them cutely in different directions.

“I had better fur than him,” Ram complained.

“Are you really jealous of a puppy, Ram? I didn’t realize I had Bohn on my hands,” King said with a raised eyebrow.

“You don’t,” he frowned.

“That’s not what hot guy with Pomeranian would say or Tul with the Corgi. Face it, you can’t stand competition,” King teased.

“No,” Ram hovered over his face and kissed the top of his nose. “I don’t want to lose you.”

King pushed his face away. “You won’t lose me. Random guys with yappy dogs aren’t going to win my affections. They’re too friendly. I prefer mysterious and angsty guys much more."

There was no other person King could envision himself with. Ram was just too perfect. He may not have been a perfect person, but he was the perfect person for him. He was weird and open-minded, too attractive for his own good, caring, sweet, protective, and thoughtful. Who could've asked for a better person to share life with? This didn't even scratch the surface as to who Ram was. King couldn't wait to learn more about his favorite experiences as a kid and why he hated eating ice cream on Tuesday so much. What was life like back in Australia? Did he prefer one country to the other? What were his friends like in the land down under?

“Yes, you do," Ram said confidently with a slight upturn on the right corner of his mouth.

A sudden strong and distinct smell wafted the boys’ noses.

“Kangwol!”


End file.
